Dustfinger's Life in the Future
by huskyhercules
Summary: Dustfinger's life was never easy... During the series and after! Please R&R! DISCONTINUED.
1. Time Gone By

In the future!

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights go to Cornelia Funke._

Dustfinger stood with the rest of the crowd, watching the young Arab spit fire. Farid. He'd grown up so fast. Dustfinger just couldn't believe his "son" was already 22! It was as if life had fast forwarded from when he was just a boy. Sometimes Dustfinger would still see a hint of the child he once was in his big brown eyes. Farid juggled torches, swirling them around his muscular body. He didn't even break a sweat. (Which is ironic, considering he was surrounded by fire.) When he was done, the crowd clapped as if they were cavemen who just discovered fire. They wanted an encore, but Farid pushed their wishes away. He grabbed his shirt off of the stage floor and walked over to his father, his boots clunking against the stone streets. "What'd you think?" He asked expectantly. Dustfinger smiled. He loved it when Farid pleaded his approval. "Not bad, boy." He ruffled Farid's hair.  
"You really think so?" Dustfinger nodded. Farid beamed.

"Thanks! I've been working on a new trick, but I'm saving it for next week."

"Ah, yes. Next week's performance. Meggie's been talking about how hard you've been working." Farid blushed. It was pretty clear to Dustfinger that Farid loved Meggie with all his heart, but she'd broken his heart last year. "So, care to show me this new trick?" Dustfinger asked. "And put a shirt on, would you?" He teased. Farid frowned, ignoring his last comment. "You'll have to wait until next week." He said.

"Fine." Then Farid ran into the crowd to greet his friends. They'd been living in the Ink World for quite a while now, meaning Farid had had time to make many. There was Todd, who Dustfinger swore was brain dead, and Michael, who would never stop saying "Radical." And a bunch of other kids Dustfinger had never met before. But some of them seemed strangely suspicious…

 _Thanks for reading! I'll come out with the next chapter as soon as possible! Reviews are appreciated._


	2. Master? Dad?

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All rights go to Cornelia Funke._

 _But some of them seemed strangely suspicious…_

Dustfinger heard Michael say radical yet again before he walked out of the bustling crowd. He was heading towards Fenoglio's house. Ah, yes the old hag still lived in the Ink World. He was possibly seeing his last days, at least Dustfinger hoped. He didn't bother to knock when he made it to the old man's door. He barged in only to see the tortoise man scrunched over a desk, his fingers shaking as he wrote. Dustfinger couldn't comprehend what he was writing, but he figured it was another stupid old poem. He tapped Fenoglio's shoulder, and he looked up at him with sad eyes. "Oh. Dustfinger, I didn't hear you come in." His bones creaked as he stood up, his knees shaking. "Yeah, anyway, I came for the news."

"What news?" That ugly old man was so forgetful!

"You know, news on Orpheus." Dustfinger replied impatiently. Fenoglio's eyes lit up in realization.

"Oh, yes of course. Well I got Rosenquartz to spy on him as you requested, and he says he's definitely dead. Many people say he killed himself, but Rosenquartz has proof that he froze to death last winter." Fenoglio glanced over at his glass man once he'd finished. But Dustfinger took no notice. He was doing a happy dance in his mind. "Now, remind me why I'm taking demands from my very own creation?" Fenoglio snorted. Dustfinger scowled, said a brief thank you, and left the room. The streets of Ombra were flooded with people, particularly performers. He made his way through the crowds with ease, unlike the children who stumbled over his feet occasionally. He suddenly caught sight of Farid. He was sitting with his mysterious friends, laughing at some stupid comment. Dustfinger quickly ducked behind a building just close enough to overhear their conversation. Michael was laughing so hard Dustfinger started to chuckle himself. Then an unknown voice in the group spoke. "So Farid, how's Meggie?" Farid blushed at the comment. "Matt, I already told you. We're not together anymore." Dustfinger cringed at the hint of sadness in his voice. "Alright then. Let's talk about something else." Todd croaked. Farid nodded. "Thanks."

"So, what's it like having that stupid old fire eater run your life?" Dustfinger gasped. What in the..?

"Come on man! You know it's not like that."

"Oh really? Come on, we all know the truth. He's your master." The voice mocked.

"No he's not!" But Farid didn't sound like he believed his own voice.

"Then what is he?" Everyone fell silent, waiting for Farid's answer. Farid wanted to say dad, he wanted to say dad so bad! But he knew it wasn't true. "I don't know." He finally replied, his voice scarcely more than a whisper. Dustfinger couldn't believe his ears! Those skinny little rats, brain washing Farid! He almost walked over to them, but he quickly stopped himself. _What are you doing? You don't even know yourself what Farid is to you!_ And with that, he sadly walked back to his house.

 **Hello again! Sorry, this chapter was pretty boring, but I promise you, the next chapter will be much more interesting! And don't worry, you'll find out more about why Dustfinger asked about Orpheus real soon! Leave a review of what you think of this chapter, and I'll be sure to improve. Thanks! :)**


	3. Fight

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Todd, Matt, Michael and the other mysterious friends._

 **SO sorry this took so long to publish! I've been super busy with school, so I apologize. Thanks for reading, I'll try to get the next chapter out much quicker.**

Farid walked home with a gloomy expression on his face. _Those grimy bastards!_ He thought, stomping through the front door. He lived with Dustfinger now, even though Roxane had resented. Farid ran up the stairs, not bothering to greet the scarred man waiting by the door. He slammed his face into his bed sheets, biting his lip to hold back his tears. _What was Dustfinger? Teacher? Master? Dad? Maybe he didn't even love him._ Dustfinger walked into the room and sat next to the sobbing boy. "Farid." He began. "What's wrong?" Dustfinger sounded genuinely sympathetic, which was shocking. "Nothing." He wiped away his tears and looked up at him. "Come on. You know you can tell me."

"It's nothing!" Farid crawled up to his pillow and buried his face in his pillow.

"Farid, look at me."

"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my father!" _Was he?_ Dustfinger sighed, rubbing his hands over his tired face. "Farid, what's with this sudden change of behaviour?" Even though he knew, he still asked. "Jeez, now you even sound like my father!" Farid bellowed. Dustfinger fell silent.

"You can't tell me what to do!"

With that, Dustfinger stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Farid collapsed on his bed, breathing heavily. He'd never quarreled with Dustfinger before, and he wasn't quite sure whether he was pleased or hurt. He fell back onto his bed and sobbed.

Dustfinger paced up and down, enraged. _How dare the boy! Treating me like trash!_ He froze. "Oh, I really do sound like a father!" He said to no one in particular. He heard Farid's muffled shouts, suggesting he was trying to let some anger out. Dustfinger let him do his thing and walked outside. The wind instantly blew his long hair in his face, making Dustfinger sputter and spit his blonde locks out of his mouth. _No, this certainly isn't a perfect movie moment,_ Dustfinger thought, laughing at his own joke. He walked to the backyard, his eyes scanning the forest ahead. "Gwin!" He called, clicking his tongue. The horned marten came instantly, stopping to look for Farid. "No, he's not here right now." Dustfinger said as a way of answer. And with that, Gwin hopped on his shoulder, and together, they entered the house once again.

" _MEGGIE!" Farid ran towards her, but it was too late. The knife sailed straight through her heart. Basta cackled at Farid's hopeless screams, and Farid was in so much shock that he didn't even see the knife enter his own chest. Everything just went black, Basta's laughs echoing in his ears for all eternity._

Farid woke to see Dustfinger standing in the doorway. Gwin was clutching his shoulder anxiously, as if he'd had the nightmare instead of Farid. "Farid, you were having a nightmare." Dustfinger said calmly. He walked over to him, setting Gwin down on the carpet. "Yeah." Farid replied, remembering their quarrel from earlier. "So, have you been practicing that new fire trick?" Dustfinger smirked. Farid looked at him incredulously. Had he forgotten their quarrel? "Yeah." He mumbled in response. Dustfinger sighed. "I'm sorry. About earlier." He seemed to have trouble spitting out the words, as if he'd never apologized before. "Whatever" Farid muttered under his breath. _The boy really is a teenager!_ Dustfinger thought. "So anyway, I'm going for a walk, be back in a few hours." Dustfinger turned to leave, but Farid stopped him. "Can I come?" Dustfinger groaned.

"Alright, so long as you don't yap my ear off." Farid beamed. Yes, he still was a boy deep down. And with that, the two men set off on a journey through the woods. Together.

 **So, that chapter was pretty boring, but hopefully the next chapter will be more interesting. And yes, I know, my Dustfinger isn't very Dustfingery, is he? Sorry it's so just hard, considering he's not my own character. Thanks again for reading!**


	4. Meggie and Doria

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inkheart or any of its characters. I wish I owned Dustfinger though._

 _And no, I didn't particularly like Meggie and Doria together better than her and Farid, but they're still pretty damn cute. Just a little romance in this chapter._

 _One more thing!_ _ **This story is set after Farid comes back from his journey (I assumed he would hopefully come back at some point after the series) So that's why Meggie doesn't know and Farid is with Dustfinger currently. Thanks!**_

Meggie smiled at her husband. Doria smiled back, loving to see her happy. Meggie was quite happy with him, trying to forget about her past love, Farid. Some nights she longed to hold Farid's hand one last time, but he'd left long ago. (Or so she thought) Her heart beat much faster for Doria now, even if Farid would always have a special place in her heart. Doria broke her out of her thoughts. "Darling, would you pass me my hammer?" She nodded, passing it to him. Doria was in the middle of inventing some sort of new contraption, and he wouldn't reveal it to her till he was done. She loved how she searched for her approval of his inventions. That's when she heard a knock at the door. She opened it, only to reveal none other than the master fire eater himself.

Dustfinger.

Meggie tried to hide her smile, but she couldn't help it. He grinned that stupid mysterious grin back, same as always. She awkwardly shook hugged him, even if he didn't like it. "Dustfinger! Haven't seen you in a while!" He nodded vaguely.

"Yes. Well, I just thought I'd let you know that Mo may have to come live with you and Doria for a few days. The storm last week brought down part of his roof, the Black Prince is going to fix it." She understood immediately. The outrageous storm had brought damage to many houses, and Mo was more than welcome to stay with her and her husband. "Sounds great to me." She replied. They stood awkwardly for a few moments before Dustfinger finally said, "Well I better go. Farid will be waiting." She nodded and closed the door. Then she realized what he'd just said. "Farid?" She asked, opening the door again. But Dustfinger had already gone. _Farid's back?_ She thought. _No, he couldn't be. Don't think foolishly, Meggie._ Then she went back to sit with Doria.

 **Wow, that sure took a while! Sorry about the wait. And yes, I know it's quite short, but just a few little drabbles between Meggie/Doria. Hope you enjoyed, let me know if you want more Meggie/Doria, or if you want to see some Meggie/Farid. Thanks!**


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